Need More CONTROL!
Comments
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I understand that the UPA-2 is only temporary eventually you will move on to something different or better or both.AudioFilet wrote: »The UPA-2 is only a temporary amp for me at the moment (it's only $250!), but I am not at all unhappy with the bass response or the performance of the amp. It is suprisingly good.
The post is actually whining about lousy recordings and trying to compensate for them when it is needed, which is not all that often really. It's about CONTROL!
We all have to start somewhere. I started out with far worse gear than yours, I think my first setup was an old beat up sony receiver that I bought from the neighbor for $35.00 and a pair of Bose 401's I thought it was the ****!!
I still believe the single biggest thing you can do for your system is to get a better amp it will make the recordings that you think are bass light sound more like the ones that arent and improve the sound enough that you may even consider getting rid of your sub except for movies.
I used to do exactly what you are doing now constantly now constantly fiddling with the tone controls sometimes even on the same album. Once I got a high current amp I havent felt the need to touch a tone control in years.
If possible look for a polkie or friend near you to try one of their amps out for an listening session and then you will know whether what I am saying will help you.
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all -
"I used to do exactly what you are doing now constantly now constantly fiddling with the tone controls sometimes even on the same album. Once I got a high current amp I havent felt the need to touch a tone control in years."
I think you might have missed the point, Snow. I don't have any tone controls, I never even mentioned them. Don't miss them either.
Whooosh!2 Channel rig:
LSi9"s (modified xover's) & HSU Sub
Harman Kardon HK 990 Amp
Onkyo C-S5VL SACD
Music Hall MMF 5.1
Furman Elite 15
HT rig:
HK AVR-745 & Polk Monitor Series -
AudioFilet wrote: »Maybe 1% of the time it aggravates me enough to adjust the sub output, since I have no stinking tone controls. If I did, I would probably use tha damn things. I think I should be happy with the Parasound 2100 (I know, not a "real" preamp), with it's front-mounted sub level control. Damn thing still doesn't have any stinking tone controls, though. Oh well. Can't have it all, I guess.
Hmmm.... Well whether you use tone controls or are constantly adjusting your sub the effect is the same. You wouldndt need a sub if you had a decent amp. I was trying to help you. If you dont want my help fine continue strugglingAudioFilet wrote: »"I used to do exactly what you are doing now constantly now constantly fiddling with the tone controls sometimes even on the same album. Once I got a high current amp I havent felt the need to touch a tone control in years."
I think you might have missed the point, Snow. I don't have any tone controls, I never even mentioned them. Don't miss them either.
Whooosh!
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all -
Sorry Snow, I didn't mean to offend.
The post that you quote above was in response to another poster that brought up tone controls, and was intended to be humorous.
But I really don't consider me adjusting the sub level 1% of the time to be "constantly adjusting".
I have only had the Emotiva gear about 2 weeks, so I haven't actually run the system without the sub & with the speaker output set to full range yet. Maybe you're right and I don't need the sub. My last amp (NAD C372) badly needed the sub, so when I sold it and bought the Emotiva gear, I just hooked it back up.
What sort of amp are you using??2 Channel rig:
LSi9"s (modified xover's) & HSU Sub
Harman Kardon HK 990 Amp
Onkyo C-S5VL SACD
Music Hall MMF 5.1
Furman Elite 15
HT rig:
HK AVR-745 & Polk Monitor Series -
AudioFilet, might I suggest you contact forum member Wardsweb. He lives in your area, has a great deal of audio experience and is willing to share that knowledge. He's also involved in the Bottlehead Club, which has regular get togethers.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
No problem. I am sure that when I initally said you needed to ditch the Emotiva amp and get a decent one it sounded harsh, but wasnt meant to offend only to tell it the way it really is IMHO.AudioFilet wrote: »Sorry Snow, I didn't mean to offend.
The post that you quote above was in response to another poster that brought up tone controls, and was intended to be humorous.
But I really don't consider me adjusting the sub level 1% of the time to be "constantly adjusting".
I have only had the Emotiva gear about 2 weeks, so I haven't actually run the system without the sub & with the speaker output set to full range yet. Maybe you're right and I don't need the sub. My last amp (NAD C372) badly needed the sub, so when I sold it and bought the Emotiva gear, I just hooked it back up.
What sort of amp are you using??
This has been my experience with subs and without, small speakers, large speakers, small amps receivers and large amps.
Until I bought my current speakers SDA SRS 1.2TL's I was using a pair of JBL-L-100 T3's and a sub and a sony DA5 ES receiver the receiver seemed to be ok but I noticed I was playing with the bass tone control a lot and adjusting the sub output quite a bit at times it seemed over powering and other times not enough bass, after I got my current speakers I realized that the sub didnt mate well with the speakers, so I ditched the sub.
After I got the SDA's I was still constantly playing with the bass output on the receiver but eventually upgraded to a Proton 100 wpc amp and an Adcom GTP-555 preamp tuner. It was better by leaps and bounds over the receiver but I still adjusted the tone controls on the pre quite often and at lower volumes used the contour button which is basically a bass boost.
Next step I got a Carver TFM-35 amp and noticed that the bass seemed overpowering so I turned off the contour option but once in a while adjusted the tone controls.
Next step I got a Sunfire 300 X 2 and the results were dramatic, bass was increased once again but not only that, it seemed effortless no matter how loud and what type of music.
Little details that I hadndt noticed before like gourds being shook came through clearly on tracks that I had listened too hundreds of times but had never noticed before, they had been muffled earlier, the music had came alive every guitar note was sharp the drums hit you in the chest hard it seemed like for the first time I was actually in the audience at the concert :eek:
I havent felt the need to adjust the tone controls or any desire for a sub since.
I really think that no matter whether you keep the LSi9's or go with larger speakers you still need a High current amp and no matter what speakers you buy down the road you are still going to need a good amp. As mentioned earlier beg, borrow, steal a friends bigger amp and compare between the two with the sub off and the receiver set to full range and then you will know whether you can live with the 9's or you want a larger pair of Polks.
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all -
A thread Wardsweb recently posted, http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93244Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
AudioFilet, might I suggest you contact forum member Wardsweb. He lives in your area, has a great deal of audio experience and is willing to share that knowledge. He's also involved in the Bottlehead Club, which has regular get togethers.A thread Wardsweb recently posted, http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93244
Good idea and good posts :cool:
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all -
MicroPro 4000 from polk ..... has a remote....
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I really think that no matter whether you keep the LSi9's or go with larger speakers you still need a High current amp and no matter what speakers you buy down the road you are still going to need a good amp. As mentioned earlier beg, borrow, steal a friends bigger amp and compare between the two with the sub off and the receiver set to full range and then you will know whether you can live with the 9's or you want a larger pair of Polks.
REGARDS SNOW
Getting a new amp is no problem. I'm going to buy a whole new system in the next month or so.
What exactly do you mean when you say "High Current"??
At the moment, I have 5 different systems set up in my house.
The front room has a 7.1 HT system using a Harman Kardon AVR745, and I have a 2 channel tube amp setup in the same room using a Chinese-made amp named "Music Angel". It uses 4 KT88 tubes, and claims 65 WPC. It can operate in pentode or triode mode. Sounds wonderful with it's RTi A3's.
My computer room has another 2 channel system using an Outlaw RR2150 and RTi6's. I love it.
My bedroom has a 5.1 system using a Yamaha receiver & a mish-mash of speakers I had laying around the house. The fronts are made by "Streem", and the rears are "Radiient", and a Polk sub. I accidentally got real lucky in setting this one up, because I must have got it just about perfect. It really ROCKS, sounds better than the 7.1 HK up front. I never have had the time to set that HK up properly.
My listening area behind the kitchen has the 2 channel system with the Emotiva & LSi9's.
I have another 2 channel system being used as the monitor for my digital recording system (I am an amatuer recording engineer). That one is an Audiosource Amp Seven, a 200 WPC Tripath digital amp (I have a spare one of those too). Polk Monitor 50's hooked up to this one.
I am also in the process of setting up another 2 channel system for my new apartment in New Orleans, but all I have so far is a pair of Polk Monitor 70's and a Sony SACD player.
Where was I??2 Channel rig:
LSi9"s (modified xover's) & HSU Sub
Harman Kardon HK 990 Amp
Onkyo C-S5VL SACD
Music Hall MMF 5.1
Furman Elite 15
HT rig:
HK AVR-745 & Polk Monitor Series -
What I believe to be a True High Current amp is one that is capable of providing 3db of headroom and that is stable into a very low ohm load.AudioFilet wrote: »Getting a new amp is no problem. I'm going to buy a whole new system in the next month or so.
What exactly do you mean when you say "High Current"??
For instance the Sunfire 300 X 2 will double down all the way into 1 ohm at 2400 wpc for an incredible 1000 ms and from what I have read will actually operate into a dead short without blowing up.
The LSi series is a 4 ohm nominal load and to make them really perform the way they are capable of they need such an amplifier.
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all -
I looked at Sunfire's website, evidently they only make HT equipment anymore.
I'm sure I will keep the LSi9' but I am considering getting the LSi15's.2 Channel rig:
LSi9"s (modified xover's) & HSU Sub
Harman Kardon HK 990 Amp
Onkyo C-S5VL SACD
Music Hall MMF 5.1
Furman Elite 15
HT rig:
HK AVR-745 & Polk Monitor Series -
True you would have to buy used if you wanted either a Sunfire 300 X 2 or 600 X 2 amp considering the 600 version sells for more than double usally, I think the 300 is a better value.AudioFilet wrote: »I looked at Sunfire's website, evidently they only make HT equipment anymore.
I'm sure I will keep the LSi9' but I am considering getting the LSi15's.
The good thing about getting one of these amps is that they are sought after enough that if you didnt like it's sound or perfomance you can resell for no loss without worries if you buy at a reasonable price.
REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all
